The Promised Tree
by BlackStar42Roses
Summary: Tsuna, a naive little youkai, made a promise with a strange human many years ago to see the ocean. But, fifty years later, why couldn't he find that man again? Based on a Natsume Yuujinchou episode. 1827/Friendship.
1. Chapter 1

The Promised Tree

1827

This story is roughly based off an episode in _Natsume Yuujinchou_, which I found absolutely adorable. In any case, this is also my second 1827 fic. They're not my OTP, but, I just felt that this was the only pairing suitable for the story. Anyway. It's a little late, but Happy New Year's! Thank you for all the reviews and comments from my previous stories. I promise to work hard this year! With that being said, this little fic is my gift to you~

Note: In this fic, Tsuna is a _youkai_, which is basically a Japanese spirit. He's not human. Hibari _is_ human, though.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn, or Natsume Yuujinchou. Any similarities in events or characters living or dead are entirely coincidental.

Enjoy!

* * *

><p><em>The Promised Tree<em>

He jumped.

And jumped.

And jumped again.

Several spirits flittering by saw him and laughed, but Tsuna wasn't swayed. He set his lips in a firm line, bent his knees until he was crouching into a ball, and jumped again.

"Reach…!"

The little hand stretched for the tree branch, fingers brushing the rough wood, but gravity won over once again, and the tiny brunette fell once more, falling hard on his rear end.

"Ouch! That hurts!" Tsuna whined, kicking his feet. "Why am I so short?"

"Che. Only a herbivore would complain about something so useless."

Tsuna shrieked and spun around on his knees as a giant shadow loomed over him. He blinked and looked up fearfully at a terrifying male figure clad in black. A jacket hung loosely around his shoulders, the sleeves flapping next to him like bird's wings, and to gleaming pairs of ice-cold eyes staring down at him from behind raven-black bangs. Tsuna quaked at the sight of the demon above him, close to tears. The 'thing' tilted his head a little, and then opened his mouth.

"You—"

"Monster!" Tsuna screamed, scrambling backwards as fast as he could. In his haste, the brunette planted his hand on a pile of leaves and in an instant—_slipped_.

"Hieee!"

Tsuna rolled, rolled, and suddenly, the edge of a cliff loomed into view. Luck really wasn't on his side, Tsuna concluded. First he meets this terrifying-looking _youkai_, and now he's about to fall to his death.

_Uh oh_.

Suddenly, a large, calloused hand reached out and grabbed the skinny boy's wrist in one go, saving him at the last second from a fall off a fifty-foot high cliff. Tsuna gasped, hanging for dear life to the scary man. As terrifying as the raven was, no way did the brunette want to fall.

The raven stared at him for a moment; the blazing eyes still burning from underneath the bangs, and then hefted Tsuna back up in one go. The brunette squeezed his eye shut and clung on for dear life, small hands grabbing for the folds of the man's jacket. The raven raised an eyebrow, but said nothing as he lowered Tsuna back onto the ground. The smaller of the two sniffled, blinking tears out of his eyes.

"T-thank you, m-mister…"

The raven shrugged his shoulders, making the sleeves of the jacket flap. "Che. Don't overact to such little things like that. Only herbivores do that."

"A what?" Tsuna asked, curious.

The raven gave him a funny look, then shook his head. "Never mind."

"Is it some kind of spirit?" Tsuna pressed. "Do they live in this area? Do they know how to get to the sea?"

"No," the raven said a little irritably, bonking his fist on Tsuna's head. Immediately, the brunette teared up the abuse, making the black-haired demon roll his eyes and instead start to ruffle the soft brown locks. Tsuna blinked. It felt…warm. The hand was large and scary, but there was an unmistakable feeling of warmth and…comfort?

Wait, when did _youkai_ have body heat, anyway?

"Mister, how do you do that?" Tsuna asked curiously, jumping a little so that his hand bumped against the raven's as it was ruffling his hair. All his fear had vanished and was replaced by curiosity. The dark-haired man raised his other eyebrow. "Do what?"

"Make your hand warm!" Tsuna said brightly, still bouncing. "What kind of spell is it? I've never seen it before."

The raven stared at him. "There's no spell for that, baka. It's called body temperature."

"Eh?"

Judging from the other's look, he probably thought Tsuna was missing a few screws here and there. "Body temperature," he explained slowly. "As in, warm-blooded mammals, like bears, whales…"

Tsuna frowned. A what?

The raven rolled his eyes. "A human?" he offered, gesturing to himself. "Humans have body heat, stupid."

It took about five seconds for Tsuna to realize what the dark-haired man was saying. He was a human. Tsuna was speaking with a human. _A human was patting him on the head_.

"HIEEEEEEEE!"

All hell broke loose.

* * *

><p>"You," the raven snapped, "are the only idiot I know who almost falls off the same cliff twice. In one day. <em>Within five minutes<em>."

"S-sorry," sniffled Tsuna, now seated far, far away from the hidden edge, and under a small baby tree instead. "I-I didn't mean…I didn't know you were a human."

The dark-haired man scoffed, crossing his arms. "Is it so bad to be talking to a human, _youkai_?"

"N-no! I didn't mean that either!" Tsuna cried, flailing everywhere. "I…this is just the first time I've ever talked to…a human before. Humans don't see us. So…how can you?"

The other smirked. "That's because I'm actually God."

"Hieeeee?"

"Don't be so gullible," the raven snapped, smacking Tsuna on the head. "I just happen to be able to see all of you herbivores, so don't question me. It's not like I asked to see."

"Oh…o-okay," Tsuna said, fidgeting. "W-what's your name, mister?"

"Why do you ask?" the raven said, stiffening. Tsuna flinched. "You saved me twice…so I thought that I should at least say a proper thank you," he said weakly. The dark-haired man surveyed him closely for a moment, then shrugged and said,

"At least you've got discipline. Very well. My name is Hibari Kyoya. Remember that well."

"Hibari Kyoya…" Tsuna repeated, feeling pleased. Maybe this guy wasn't so bad after all. "Hibari Kyoya…"

"Stop muttering to yourself." Hibari snapped, flicking the _youkai_ in the forehead. "If you're going to thank me, do it properly."

"H-hai!" Tsuna squeaked, scrambling to his feet. Even standing up, he was only about as high as Hibari's chest. Bowing low, the brunette stuttered quickly, "Thank you for your help, Hibari-san! I promise to stay away from cliffs and not to be so gullible in the future!"

A ghost of a smile quirked the corner of Hibari's mouth. "Fine, since I've already answered two of your questions, you have to answer one of mine now."

"Eh?" Tsuna asked, looking up.

Hibari glanced over at the tall tree behind the small _youkai_. "What in the world were you trying to do before?"

Tsuna blushed in embarrassment, thinking back to his mini tantrum about not being tall enough, playing with the sleeves of his hoodie. "I, uhm, I wanted to climb the tree," he muttered.

"And why would you want to climb that tree? It's gigantic." Hibari said. "Wouldn't it be more logical to try climbing a smaller one?"

"Yes, but you can't see the pond from the other trees." Tsuna replied.

Hibari looked surprised. "Pond?"

"Yup!" Tsuna said, beaming. "If I sit on that branch on that tall tree, I can see right over the outskirts of the farmland and there's a really pretty pond that sparkles when there's sunlight. When it rains, the pond gets even bigger afterwards! In the wintertime, the humans skate there, so I can watch them play as well. It's beautiful!"

"Why don't you just walk over there to see the pond?" Hibari asked flatly. "It's a little easier than trying to climb a tree to see it."

"Oh…well, I can't cross over the farmlands." Tsuna said sadly, looking at his knees.

"And why not?"

"W-well…my ancestors weren't very nice _youkai_," the brunette explained tentatively. "They used to terrorize the farmers and eat all the animals, so a priest came and made a seal over the land. _Youkai_ are forbidden from crossing the line, so I can't go to the pond. I can only see it from that branch. My father used to lift me up onto the tree, but he's been gone for many years already. So I try to jump up there myself, since nobody else is around to help me."

Hibari made a noise in his throat. "You know, if you want to see something beautiful, you might as well look towards the ocean instead. It's far more majestic than some little pond in the distance."

"Ocean?" Tsuna asked. "What's an ocean?"

There was a moment of silence as two sparrow _youkais_ fluttered by, singing songs. Then, Hibari, with the same expression he had on his face when Tsuna asked about body heat, reached into the folds of his jacket and pulled out a slip of paper and a fountain pen.

"Here." He said bluntly, shoving the utensils in the brunette's face.

"Hiee? What's this?" Tsuna stuttered, blinking innocently up at Hibari. The raven dropped the paper and pen into Tsuna's hands and said, "Write your name down on that sheet of paper."

Confused, Tsuna complied, scribbling his name vertically down the parchment. The moment he finished, Hibari snatched it out of his hands and squinted at the swiggly writing.

"Your name is Tsunayoshi?"

"Hai!" the brunette said. "But most of my friends call me Tsuna for short."

Hibari cast him a half-amused look before smirking. "Well, Tsuna, you've broken your promise already."

"Eh? What do you mean?" the tiny _youkai_ asked, blinking in confusion. Hibari suddenly loomed over him, looking positively evil. "You promised me that you wouldn't be so _gullible_ in the future, yet you gave me your name without question. Names are very important, you know? I could have complete control over you now."

"W-what?" Tsuna spluttered, paling. "Hibari-san! Y-you stole my name?"

"Tch. Why are you making it sound like I'm the bad guy? I won't do something stupid like forcing you to my will by taking control of your name."

"Oh," Tsuna said, immensely relieved. "So you didn't take it?"

"Nope, I did, I just have a little more discipline, unlike other humans."

Tsuna nearly cried out loud. This guy was terrifying! "W-what are you going to do…with my name?" he wailed, running up and beating on Hibari's chest with his little fists. "Tell me, Hibari-san!"

"Cut that out," Hibari retorted, stopping Tsuna with relative ease. "Just watch." The raven walked over to the sapling tree Tsuna had been sitting under moments before and tied the sheet of parchment to the lowest trunk. He then turned to face the tearful brunette, half-smiling at the frightened look on Tsuna's face and the blazing defiance in his eyes.

"Seeing as I have your name and you are now under my command, I'm telling you to meet me under this same tree fifty years from now."

"Fifty years?" Tsuna gasped. Hibari nodded solemnly. "Yes. Fifty years. Stop repeating what I say. In fifty years, come here and I'll give you back your name." The taller human almost grinned at the sudden change in Tsuna's attitude. The brunette was practically sparkling now.

"Will you really, Hibari-san?"

At first, Hibari didn't reply. The dark-haired teen simply turned on his heel and started walking through the forest. Bemused, Tsuna ran to catch up, falling into step behind him, blinking curiously up at the other. Hibari actually chuckled, bumping his fist on Tsuna's head.

"And…I'll show you the ocean as well."

Behind the ecstatic _youkai_ the stoic human, the sheet of parchment fluttered a little on the branch it had been tied to, waiting for its namesake to return and a promise to be fulfilled.

* * *

><p><em>The Promised Tree<em>

_Part 1 End_


	2. Chapter 2

The Promised Tree

1827

Note: In this fic, Tsuna is a _youkai_, which is basically a Japanese spirit. He's not human.

Also: _Ayakashi_: It means the same thing as a _youkai_.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn. Any similarities in events or characters living or dead are entirely coincidental.

Enjoy!

* * *

><p><em>The Promised Tree<em>

_Fifty Years Later_

Tsuna peeked around a tall lamppost. A group of giggly schoolgirls fluttered by him, chatting lively about boys. A soccer team passed him, on their way to practice, and Tsuna narrowly avoided the dangerous bouncing ball. Other students milled out of the school, all on their way home after a long day or heading off to café's or ramen stands for food.

Tsuna stood on his tiptoes, craning his neck to see.

Still no Hibari.

Tsuna paced nervously back and forth, twiddling his thumbs and careful to avoid running into anybody. Other humans couldn't see him, but that didn't mean he wasn't solid. The last thing the little _youkai_ wanted was to attract unnecessary attention. He had been waiting by the tree since morning, but Hibari hadn't showed up. A bit nervous and wanting to do something to pass the time, Tsuna had dared to venture down into the little town, weaving in and out of random places in search of the raven, and here he was, in front of the local high school, still searching for Hibari.

Where _was_ that frightening guy?

The birds chirped brightly in the late afternoon sunlight as they flew past. Tsuna watched as the high school students pushed each other around, laughing and joking loudly with each other. It looked nice to have friends like that. Not that Tsuna didn't have friends. He hung out mostly with other _youkai_, but because he was clumsy and shy, nobody liked to talk with him. After they heard that Hibari of all people had stolen his name, they teased the poor brunette even more, despite Tsuna's attempts to tell them off for making fun of Hibari.

"_Don't be mean about him! He's a good guy!" Tsuna yelled defiantly._

"_Baka," a tall earth spirit named Reborn said sharply. "Humans can't be trusted. He's not going to give your name back."_

"_He will," Tsuna said, upset. "He told me to meet him under that baby tree in fifty years!"_

"_Hah!" a light-haired kappa chortled. "He's never coming back; it was just an excuse to get rid of you, kora!"_

"_It is not," Tsuna cried. "Stop it!"_

"_Tch. You're so easily fooled, Tsuna," a female ayakashi with a scarred face scolded him. "Next time, pay more attention to your surroundings. He could have been an exorcist for all you know."_

_Tsuna bit his lip, trying not to cry. "He'll come," he yelled. "Just you wait!"_

_He ran off, ignoring the laughter and exasperated sighs that trailed after him. In reality, though, the brunette had his doubts. Hibari seemed like the type of person who'd fool him just for the sake of wasting time. What if he didn't show up after fifty years?_

_Tsuna sniffled a little. He wasn't sure why, but the thought of being able to talk with someone that he considered the closest thing he to a friend after so many years held his faith in place._

"…so just you wait, you idiot!"

Suddenly, a huge shadow loomed over Tsuna, who had been crouching on the pavement by the entrance of the school, lost in his own thoughts. Squeaking a little in surprise, he looked up and found himself staring at a huge group of six people. The little _youkai_ paled in fright. There were so many people! The large group of friends walked past him, all talking amongst themselves. There was a scary-looking guy with red hair who had been arguing with a shorter boy with curly green locks. Behind them, a lean, sporty-looking guy with blue hair sucked at his already empty juice box in boredom. Up ahead, a graceful-looking blonde carrying a violin case was talking to his gentle-mannered friend, who carried flute. Tsuna watched them walk on with a bit of longing in his eyes. It must have been nice to have so many friends to play with…

Then, he bumped into somebody.

Or rather, somebody walked out from the school gates and ran into Tsuna as the brunette stood up to stretch his legs.

"Ah!" Tsuna yelped, jumping back in surprise. The taller of the two grunted a little, and Tsuna looked up to find himself staring at…

"HIBARI!" Tsuna cried, eyes lighting up at once when he saw his friend standing before him. The student the _youkai_ had bumped into blinked, looked down, caught sight of Tsuna, then said, "…what?"

"Hibari, it's you! I've been waiting forever; don't you remember what day it is?" Tsuna asked brightly, clapping his hands together. The other stared at him, a bit confused, a bit annoyed.

"What are you talking about? Do I know you?"

"Hibari…" Tsuna said slowly, tilting his head curiously up. "It's me, Tsuna. Don't you remember? I'm…you promised to give my name back, right? Aren't we going to see the ocean?" There was no response. Confused, Tsuna waved his hands around, trying to get his point across. "The ocean, Hibari-san! You said we'd meet under the tree and you'd take me to see the ocean!"

"Alaude! What are you doing?"

Tsuna jumped a little at the sudden shout and spun around to see that the group of six friends had stopped and were now staring at them. The redhead was tapping his foot impatiently.

"Are…those your friends, Hibari-san?" Tsuna asked, shivering. Hibari hung out with some scary people, although the brunette wasn't sure why they were calling Hibari _Alaude_.

"There's some kid talking to me, G. Can't you see that?" the taller called back in annoyance.

The redhead—G—frowned. "I don't see anyone there."

The latter blinked, and then looked down at Tsuna again. And it was at this moment that Tsuna realized that something was a little off. Hibari's hair was grey. Or rather, it was a curious mixture of blonde, streaked with a little grey and a bit of silver here and there. The dark onyx eyes Tsuna once remembered were now replaced by two chips of ice blue orbs. Also, this 'new' Hibari was a bit taller, and he looked a bit…younger.

"Hibari? Why did you change your hair colour?" Tsuna asked, his voice quavering. He was scared.

The light-haired Hibari sighed and said bluntly. "Are you a _youkai_?"

"Hieee? Of course I am!"

There was a long-suffering sigh. "Did you, by chance, have your name taken from you by a man named 'Hibari Kyoya'?"

"Yes," Tsuna said, utterly confused now. "_You_ took my name, Hibari-san!"

"And that," the light-haired man said, "is the problem here. I'm _not_ Hibari Kyoya."

Tsuna's jaw dropped.

"My name is Alaude. I'm Kyoya's _son_."

The _youkai_ trembled, hands clasping and unclasping together. "So…where's Hibari-san?"

Alaude closed his eyes and ran a hand through his hair. "He's not here anymore, _youkai_."

"Then where is he?" Tsuna cried, waving his arms.

Alaude paused before answering. "My father died twenty years ago."

* * *

><p><em>The Promised Tree <em>

_Part 2 End_


	3. Chapter 3

The Promised Tree

1827

In this fic, Tsuna is a _youkai_, which is basically a Japanese spirit. He's not human.

Also: _Ayakashi_: It means the same thing as a _youkai_.

**Note! Please read!**: I know that making a time leap of fifty years causes a bit of confusion, and I made a couple of mistakes with the timeline (sorry!) so I'll point out a couple of things real quick. Fifty years later, Tsuna's trying to get his name back from Hibari. Hibari Kyoya, however, passed away about twenty years ago. Right now, Tsuna has met Hibari's son, Alaude. The entire First Generation Vongola are high school students. They're about sixteen years old or so. I know it doesn't add up, but for the sake of storytelling, I'm just going to leave it like that…and shun myself into the corner. I'm sorry guys TT^TT

Aaaand…this chapter. Is dedicated to my friend Ellie~ since she fangirls over Natsume Yuujinchou with me all the time :3 Happy belated birthday~!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn. Any similarities in events or characters living or dead are entirely coincidental.

Enjoy!

* * *

><p><em>The Promised Tree<em>

"So, let me get this straight," G said, rubbing his temples. "Your dad, Alaude, took this kid's name fifty years ago, and tied it to a tree. He says to meet him there in _fifty years_ and he'd give the name back, and take this kid to the ocean. But. He's not around to do that anymore, is he?"

"That pretty much sums it up, yes." Alaude said, rolling his eyes.

"Wonderful deduction skills you've got there, G." the blue haired man said, stirring his drink. G scowled heavily at him. "Shut up, Daemon!"

"Hey now," the flutist said quickly, "we shouldn't argue like this."

"I agree with Asari," the blonde interjected. "We're attracting a fair bit of attention."

G peered around to see several heads looking in their general direction. However, one glare from the frightening redhead quickly redirected the nosy bystanders back to their own business.

"Sorry, Giotto," he mumbled, addressing the blonde.

The group of eight was seated in a small family diner; the violinist Giotto, the flutist Asari, and the scary G sitting on one side of the booth facing Alaude, the athletic guy Daemon, and the curly-haired boy named Lampo. Squashed between Alaude and Daemon was Tsuna, who sniffled every other second or so and poked dispiritedly at the mango pudding Alaude had order for him. Out of the group of seven friends, only the Alaude could view Tsuna normally. However, Giotto, G, and Daemon were able to catch sight of the little _youkai_ once they put on glasses. But neither Asari nor Lampo could hear or see Tsuna.

"Did it not occur to you that a human life span would be shorter than a _youkai_'s, kid?" Daemon asked. "I'm guessing Alaude's dad was about twenty when he met you, and fifty years later, he'd be seventy. There's no way he'd be able to find you again."

Tsuna wiped his nose. "B-but…I don't know how to count human years," he whispered. "They go by too fast. I can't keep track."

"It's not your fault," Giotto said comfortingly, "you're not used to it, that's all. I bet you've hardly aged a day since you met Alaude's father. How long have you been a child for?"

Tsuna hiccupped. "Four… thousand…years?"

G choked loudly on his soda. "See?" he said. "There's no way a human could live that long! You've been waiting for nothing this whole time."

Daemon threw G a withering glare as Tsuna started to cry again, large droplets of tears rolling down his face. "Quit making the kid cry. It's noisy as hell."

"I feel bad for Tsuna-kun," Asari said sympathetically. "I mean, he must have viewed Alaude's father as his friend, right? It's no wonder he's sad that Kyoya-san is gone now."

"I'm not saying I don't feel sorry for the kid, Asari," Daemon retorted. "But it's damn easier for you to be sensitive about it when you can't hear this _youkai_ wail at the top of his lungs."

"Now, now," Giotto said.

"If you want your name back, we can get it now," Alaude said quietly to Tsuna. The brunette blinked tearfully up at the light-haired man, saying, "Now?"

"Yeah." Alaude mumbled, finishing his water. "Which tree did he tie your name too? I'll give the name back. I can't bring you to the ocean, but at least you're not under anybody's control anymore."

"It-it's in the forest," Tsuna said, wiping his red eyes. "By the farmland."

"Alright. Let's go then."

"Where are you guys off to?" Lampo asked, looking a little creeped out at what appeared to be Alaude talking to himself.

"I'm going to find his name." Alaude said simply. "I've got no use with all the names of the _ayakashi_ my father left behind. It'll be quick."

"Hey, we'll go with you," Giotto said. "It's not that safe wandering in the forest by yourself. We'll help out."

"No—"

"Might was well go for a walk," G said bluntly, standing up and stretching. The rest of the group began finishing off their drinks and snacks, all talking about the mountain routes they knew alongside the woods and which ones would be best to take. Even Asari and Lampo, who couldn't see Tsuna, were getting ready to go.

"You don't have to come, all of you," Alaude said in slight exasperation. "This was my father's business. It doesn't need to concern any of you."

"We're friends, aren't we?" Daemon shot irritably at him. "And a walk up a hill can't hurt any of us. I run longer distances than that."

Tsuna watched the large group bicker with each other, laugh, and push each other around. They seemed to be very close with each other. Even though Alaude appeared to try to exclude himself from the crowd most of the time, it also looked as though he didn't really mind being a part of the circle of friends as well.

'I wonder if he's lonely like Hibari-san was…" Tsuna thought, then almost immediately teared up again at the thought of his friend. He felt a little betrayed. Why did Hibari promise to meet him there in fifty years if he knew that as a human, he would have been too old to come see Tsuna?

The group exited the diner and began to walk towards the open countryside and towards the forest, talking loudly and joking. Daemon and G had managed to steal Lampo's candy bar and the three were now chasing each other up and down the road, tossing the snack back and forth. Giotto and Asari had resumed their conversation from before about well-known spirits and fables in their area. Alaude walked a little ways away from them, hands in his pockets and seeming lost in his own world. Tsuna trailed after him, nervous yet curious about Hibari's relative.

Hibari's _son_. Did that mean Hibari got married? Tsuna unexpectedly blushed at the thought. 'Well, that would have been nice,' he thought to himself. 'Maybe Hibari-san wouldn't have been so lonely anymore.'

"No, my father was always by himself," Alaude said, making Tsuna jump. Confused, the brunette stared at the light-haired man, wondering why he'd answered. Alaude raised an eyebrow. "You were talking out loud, _youkai_. I heard you speak."

Tsuna's face turned, if possible, even redder. He hadn't realized that.

Alaude stretched his arms and loped them behind his head, leaning back a little so he could stare up at the sunny, cloudless sky. "When I was younger, he'd go up to the mountains by himself and stay there the whole day. Sometimes he'd come back with paintings he made of the landscape or weird objects. Other times, it looked like he'd been out in a fight or something. I never asked him what he did and he never told me. All he said to me one day was that if I ever saw anything out of the ordinary, just ignore it or bite it to death."

Tsuna sweatdropped when he heard that. Hibari was scary even to his son!

"Then one day he just didn't come back. A few days later a group of hunters found his jacket in the river, and they told us he drowned. A bit hard to believe when there's no evidence though. They couldn't even find the body, and that river flows into a lake. But no matter," Alaude sighed a little, shooting Tsuna a half-glance. "If he was alive, he never came back anyway."

Tsuna was silent after hearing that. He found it hard to believe that story too. Anybody who had met Hibari would know that it would take more than a river to kill Hibari. The fact that Hibari's body was never found sparked a bit of hope in Tsuna, but then it quickly died out. He had to be realistic. Fifty years was a long time for a human. Even if Hibari _was_ alive somewhere, he would be too old to see Tsuna again, let alone take him to see the ocean.

"Say, why did my father promise to take you to see the ocean?" Alaude asked quietly, making Tsuna blush again. Why did he always end up talking out loud to himself?

"Well?" Alaude prompted, rapping Tsuna lightly on the head. The _youkai_ flailed his arms, pouting indignantly.

"Well, when I first met Hibari-san, he saved me from falling off the edge of a cliff. I had been trying to climb a tree, and I fell." Tsuna decided to leave the part about Hibari scaring him into almost falling out of the story. It was still a little embarrassing to think about. "I told him that I'd been trying to climb up there to get a view of a pond across the farmland that I couldn't walk to because of the seals an exorcist made years ago. Then he told me to give me his name, and he tied it to the branch of a tree. He told me that we'd meet under that tree in fifty years, and he'd give me back my name and show me the ocean."

"Did he really now?" a small smile ghosted over Alaude's lips. It looked curious on him, as though he hardly ever smiled. "Did my father tell you anything else about the ocean?"

"Oh, yes!" Tsuna said, brightening immediately. "He told me wonderful stories about the sea! It's blue, and infinitely vast. There would always be waves, and moonlight and sunlight would sparkle."

Alaude's small smile widened a little at the description. Tsuna skipped along, continuing on.

"And the air is crisp and fresh, there are fishes of all sorts of colours, a long-necked dinosaur lives in it—"

"EHH?"

Tsuna stopped halfway through his sentence at the sudden outburst from all seven of the humans. Apparently everybody had been listening in on them.

"W-what?" Daemon stuttered in surprise.

"Long-necked dinosaurs?" Giotto said, completely bemused.

"Yeah!" Tsuna replied enthusiastically. "And there's an island that's the dinosaur's hideout, and if you're lucky, you can see a UFO take off! It sounds amazing!"

The group gawked at the daydreaming brunette for a moment before bursting out into peals of laughter. Even G was snickering to himself. Tsuna stared at them, utterly confused now. "W-what's so funny?" he asked.

"Seriously? Your dad told this kid dinosaurs live in the sea?"

"Man, what a riot."

"I don't get it!" Tsuna cried, stomping his foot on the ground. "Tell me!"

"Just ignore them," Alaude said, fighting a smile himself. "They're being morons."

"How mean, Alaude!"

"Hey guys, look!" Giotto said suddenly. "We're here now."

All of them stopped to look up. During their conversation, the group had managed to shuffle into the outskirts of the forest and was now under the shaded canopy of the tall, majestic trees. They began to trek their way up the forest path, talking lightly as they passed into the shadow under the leaves. Several flying _youkai_ flitted over the Alaude, who greeted them smoothly. They went on and on until they reached the area Tsuna had met Hibari over fifty years ago.

There was a moment of silence.

"Well?" Alaude asked. "Where is it?"

"I—well…" Tsuna stammered. "It should be…that one? Or…no…that tree over there?"

There was a horrible moment when the tiny _youkai_ looked left and right, and realized that over the course of fifty years, the landscape had changed. Back then, there was more space, but now, shrubs and other trees had grown over the area. Tsuna started to panic, tears welling up in his eyes again. He couldn't find his name! He couldn't find the tree he had promised Hibari to meet at!

"Don't cry," Alaude said suddenly, giving Tsuna a slight shake. "It's okay. We just have to look up at the branches, right? It's okay."

"H-hieee?" Tsuna hiccupped, wiping his eyes.

"Look around," Alaude said. "It should be really high up in the branches."

The others nodded and dropped their stuff to the ground. School bags, gym bags and instrument cases were all piled up against the base of one of the trees as everybody spread out and began to look among the branches for the piece of paper that was tied to it. Tsuna stood, watching in awe. He couldn't believe that Alaude's friends were willing to do so much for him. Sniffling, the little _youkai_ wiped away the rest of his tears and resolved to help out the best he could.

The rest of the afternoon had them climbing up and down the lower branches of all the trees around them, laughing, joking, and yelping in surprise when Lampo almost fell off the cliff Tsuna had been saved from many years ago. While the rest of Alaude's friends were chuckling at the small boy's clumsiness, the _youkai_ approached the light-haired man.

"Ne, Alaude-san?"

"Hm?" Alaude replied, looking down. "What is it?"

"I was just thinking," Tsuna said, smiling, "that you're not like Hibari-san at all."

"What do you mean?" Alaude asked, tilting his head. Tsuna beamed up at him. "Alaude-san has a lot of friends. So that means that you can't be lonely like Hibari-san. I'm so happy for you!" With those words, Tsuna reached out and hugged the tall high school student around the middle, smiling. Alaude blinked, but then ruffled Tsuna's hair.

"I think you're wrong, Tsuna."

"Hieee?" Tsuna cried, looking up in shock. Alaude smirked a little at the _youkai_'s confused look. "My father wasn't lonely. He had _you_ as a friend."

Tsuna stood still, eyes going wide. Had he…really been Hibari's friend? A warm, bubbly feeling filled the _youkai_'s heart, making Tsuna go teary again.

"Oi!"

The pair turned to see Alaude's classmates waving to them. "It's up here, guys!"

"Really?" Tsuna gasped, running forwards. Giotto pointed up to a spot visible between the gaps of the leaves. "Look, Tsuna-kun. It's there."

True the blonde's words, the little piece of paper was just barely visible, tied to the highest branch on the tree.

"Is he going to climb all the way up there?" Asari asked, worried. "It's pretty high, you know."

"I can do it," Tsuna said firmly, "I know I can!"

Alaude gave him a sidelong glance. "Be careful, then."

Tsuna nodded at the light-haired student's words before readying himself. He jumped up to catch the lowest branch, and slowly began climbing up the thick limbs one by one, aiming for the top. It was hard work. The tree bark was rough and scratched his palms, leaves got stuck in his hair, and twice, Tsuna almost lost his footing. However, the calls of encouragement from his new friends below gave him the courage to continue on.

When he finally reached the top of the tree, Tsuna was worn out. Tiredly, Tsuna reached out for the branch. He was so close…yet his short arms couldn't reach the top branch. Biting his lip, the _youkai_ planted his foot on the next blanch to hoist himself right up to the tallest tree limb, and his head poked out of the shelter of leaves.

The wind ruffled his hair and Tsuna turned to glance at the surroundings around him. What he saw made his breath catch in his throat.

It was the ocean.

The tree Tsuna was standing on was the tallest one in the entire forest, having grown strong and proud over the course of fifty years. From the high altitude, Tsuna could see right over the town, the highway, over the farmland and in between the gaps of the mountains in the distance, was a vast, deep blue ocean that sparkled in the sunlight. He could see the white wave caps moving through the water and even the small, brightly coloured sails of wind surfers on their day out.

Suddenly, everything made sense to him. Hibari wanted Tsuna to be able to reach his goal and see the ocean by himself, even though the _youkai_ was confined to the forest. He tricked Tsuna into waiting fifty years, thus allowing their promised tree to grow to be the tallest one in the whole forest. When Tsuna climbed up to get his name, he would definitely be able to gaze upon the ocean he'd longed to see.

Tsuna sniffled, and then started to cry. Hibari did this because fifty years was almost nothing for a _youkai_'s lifespan. However, for a human…

Tsuna wiped his eyes and stifled his sobs. He wouldn't cry. Hibari had so generously given him a chance to view what he wanted to see the most. He wouldn't cry after what his dear friend had done for him.

"Thank you, Hibari-san," Tsuna whispered, smiling. "Goodbye."

When he finally managed to climb down to the lowest branch, Tsuna was so tired he could barely keep a steady grip on the paper with his name, let alone jump to the ground.

"Hieeee…" the _youkai_ wailed, staring fearfully at the grassy spot below him. The group shouted encouragingly down to him, but Tsuna was so scared his vision swam before him. At that moment, Alaude stepped forwards.

"Here. Jump, Tsuna. I'll catch you."

Tsuna blinked and looked up, stunned. Alaude held out his arms and looked expectantly up at the _youkai_. "Don't worry. You won't fall."

"Here, I'll catch you too," Giotto added, walking forwards to stand next to Alaude. "Don't be afraid!"

"Nufufu, you guys have no muscles," Daemon smirked. "C'mon, little _youkai_, trust us."

"Che. Four makes it safer, right?" G demanded, moving to stand next the three as well.

Asari laughed lightly and came forward with Lampo. "I can't see you, Tsuna-kun," he admitted, "but I promise we won't drop you either."

"Yare, yare," Lampo said in agreement.

Tsuna stared down at the group of seven. His hands tightened around the sheet of paper with his name on it, and took a deep breath.

Then, he jumped.

Right into the arms of his new friends.

Tsuna smiled. He wasn't going to be lonely either.

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><p><em>The Promised Tree<em>

_Part 3 End_


	4. Epilogue

The Promised Tree

Epilogue

1827

In this fic, Tsuna is a _youkai_, which is basically a Japanese spirit. He's not human.

Also: _Ayakashi_: It means the same thing as a _youkai_.

So, this is a short conclusion to what happens after Tsuna gets his name back. Thank you to all of you guys who read this and supported my other fanfics as well! I adore this story very much, because it focuses on valuable things in life such as friendship, which is a very evident trait in both KHR and Natsume Yuujinchou. It shows that there's more to life than money, status, or objects. And that, in a very simple way, is probably the most important thing of all.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn. Any similarities in events or characters living or dead are entirely coincidental.

Enjoy!

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><p><em>The Promised Tree <em>

_Epilogue_

It was evening when Tsuna happened to pass by. He had been walking along the sidewalk, taking in the new developments that had occurred while he hadn't visited the town for many years. There were many new shops, food stands, a new school and several new roads leading out in to city as well. The normally sleepy and quiet town had become busier with tourists visiting the countryside and new occupants that had moved in since transportation routes opened up.

What made him stop at that new house, though, was the fact that a huge, pudgy white cat had suddenly jumped at him when he was walking past the fence. Yelping in terror, Tsuna had scrambled around for about a minute or so, trying to avoid the vicious animal's claws. Finally, the little _youkai_ had been saved when the front door opened and a small boy of around five or six came out.

"Nyan-nyan! What are you doing?" the boy cried, running to the cat and grabbing for his pet. The cat hissed and swiped at Tsuna, but it was no longer trying to attack the _youkai_. The animal snuggled against its owner, purring loudly now. Tsuna huffed a little and tried to calm down his frantically beating heart.

"I'm sorry," the boy apologized. "I don't know why Nyan-nyan was so bad today."

"It's okay," Tsuan replied, sweatdropping. "Maybe he just doesn't like me."

"Hm," the boy said, hugging his kitty. "Maybe. Or maybe it's just because he doesn't know you. I haven't seen you around before, onii-san. Where are you from?"

"Eh?" Tsuna blinked, eyes going wide. "Er, well—"

"Kou-kun!"

Both the human and _youkai_ jumped when a woman appeared on the porch. Tsuna's eyes widened when he saw her. She was about thirty years old, wearing a sweater, a blue dress and slippers. Her hair that was a curious mixture of grey and silver that was tied in a loose ponytail at her shoulder. Her eyes, however, instead of the familiar ice blue Tsuna remembered, was a warm, chocolate brown.

"Kou-kun, who are you talking to?" the woman asked the small boy.

Kou blinked, looking from Tsuna to his cat, then called back to the woman, "Nobody, kaa-san! Just Nyan-nyan!"

"Alright," Kou's mother replied, walking back into the house. "Don't wander off!"

"Hai!" the little boy replied, and then turned back to Tsuna. "You're…not human?"

Tsuna shook his head a little sadly. "I'm not."

Kou stared at Tsuna for a moment, and then broke into a smile. "But you're nice. I like you!"

Now it was Tsuna's turn to stare in shock. He recovered, and reached out to ruffle Kou's hair. "You're a kind boy. I bet you have a lot of friends, right?"

Kou giggled. "Hai!" he replied, smiling.

Suddenly, the front door opened again. Several adults came out, talking animatedly and carrying a fold-up table, plates of food and chairs. "Kou-kun!" his mother called out. "Come help Grandpa carry the salad!"

"Hai, kaa-san!" Kou called back. "Well, I have to go now, oii-san—onii-san?"

The spot in front of the boy where the _youkai_ had been moments ago was now mysteriously empty. Blinking, Kou looked around with Nyan-nyan still tucked in his arms. "Onii-san? Where did you go?"

"What's the matter, Kou?"

And older man came forwards to the young boy standing by the gate of their house. Kou looked up, confused. "My friend was just here, Grandpa. But now he's gone."

"Is he now?" Kou's grandfather asked, running a hand though his silvery grey hair. "Well, maybe he had other friends to meet."

"Really?" Kou asked, grabbing his grandfather's hand. The old man smiled a small smile. "Perhaps."

The wind ruffled the tree leaves and sent the multi-coloured leaves sprawling over the yard. Kou laughed in delight and ran back to the lawn to catch them. The old man cast a curious glance over his shoulder. For a moment, he thought he'd heard a familiar laugh in the wind of an old friend he once knew.

Then, turning back towards his grandson, he walked back into the yard as well.

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><p><em>The Promised Tree<em>

_End_

Well, that's it~ Did you guys like the story? :D In the end, we saw some pretty interesting people~ I guess here's how the timeline went:

Hibari, Alaude, Alaude's daughter, and then Kou.

If you haven't guessed already, the old man was Alaude. His daughter is Kou's mother. Time sure passes by fast, doesn't it? And Tsuna's still around. Hopefully he'll continue to meet all the upcoming generations of Hibari's and still find the spirit of his first human friend in the family tree.

Once again, thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed this story!

-BlackStar


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